Welcome to this edition of the Royals Beat newsletter. My name is Anne Rogers, and I’ll be delivering news and insight to your inbox all season long. Thanks for following along! KANSAS CITY -- At the team hotel in Seattle, as the calendar flipped from June to July and the Royals were searching for improvement after a frustrating month, players gathered in a room and were hanging out like they usually do after games. On this particular night, Adam Frazier joined in. Frazier was not yet a Royal again. He was with the Pirates, who had flown to Seattle early ahead of an off day while the Mariners and Royals finished up the series at T-Mobile Park. The Pirates and Royals were staying at the same hotel, so Frazier caught up with his former teammates from 2024. He started to hear how much the Royals felt like they needed him back in the clubhouse. “For a lot of guys to say how much I mean to the team and clubhouse is great,” Frazier said. “I’m like, ‘What happened?’ But no, it’s something you always want to hear, but I didn’t realize it until they started bringing it up.” A few days later, the Pirates played in Kansas City. When Frazier knocked a pinch-hit single on July 9, first baseman Salvador Perez greeted him with a smile. “Hey, keep doing what you’re doing,” Frazier remembers Perez telling him. “Stay healthy. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.” Frazier added: “Clearly, he knew what was going on behind the scenes. But I didn’t. So I was like, ‘All right.’” |
A week later, on July 16, Frazier returned to the Royals in a trade that sent Minor League infielder Cam Devanney to Pittsburgh. The move was greeted with skepticism at best from a fanbase clamoring for an impact bat that would help this offense find a spark. But inside the clubhouse? “It was like a breath of fresh air for us,” Vinnie Pasquantino said. “And that’s the kind of thing that people on the outside don’t see. But this is just a huge addition for our team. There are things you cannot quantify with him. We’ve played better since he got here. We’ve scored more runs. That’s not a surprise to us.” Since the All-Star break, this offense has been different. The Royals had scored more than five runs in just 21 of 97 games (21.6%) before the break; they’ve scored more than five runs in 11 of 21 games post-break. It’s not Frazier’s bat -- although he’s come in clutch multiple times -- so much as his presence with the team. Frazier showed last year that he was crucial for team chemistry. The 33-year-old hit just .202 with a.576 OPS while playing through a thumb injury last year. But talk with anyone around the clubhouse from that year, and it illuminates Frazier’s importance was much greater than the numbers.
“It’s just the knowledge of the game,” center fielder Kyle Isbel said. “The experience is a big factor. But bringing a guy like Fraz, who has been around, who could probably easily be a manager one day -- and the confidence behind that, bringing it to the group, you just can’t take it for granted. It’s special for sure.”
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It was in May when Frazier’s name first started circulating as someone Kansas City might need back; it was in June where players really recognized they needed someone like Frazier in the clubhouse. The front office understood and worked with Pittsburgh on a deal. It helped that the Royals felt they needed a veteran lefty bat, and Frazier is performing better this year. Frazier’s attention to detail to little things that help win games has brought an extra level of professionalism to the clubhouse, along with how he interacts with his teammates to get the best out of them, whether it’s to lighten the mood or a teaching moment with a younger player. It helps to have Randal Grichuk, Mike Yastrzemski and Luke Maile in there, too. “It’s an attitude,” Frazier said. “You got to take it one day at a time. I’m constantly reminding guys of that, so you’re not scoreboard watching or getting ahead of yourself. “And just the will to win. The grit. The determination. Not being satisfied with anything. I don’t know if they had that when I [wasn’t] here, but that’s what I try to bring to a clubhouse, to a team. Bring everybody together and let everybody know how important they are to the team.” For Frazier, that leadership is something he learned from his early days with the Pirates, when David Freese, Andrew McCutchen, Sean Rodriguez and Josh Harrison all surrounded a 24-year-old Frazier breaking into the league. |
But the attitude around winning goes back to Little League. “It’s always been that way: What do I have to do to win a game today?” Frazier said. “I’m out for blood. I’m trying to win, whatever it takes to get the job done -- whether it’s baseball, basketball or ping pong. Whatever sport, any sport. You want the guys around you to be comfortable so they help you. That’s how you get the most success out of the team.” When the news broke that the Royals had traded for Frazier, his phone blew up with texts and calls. Pasquantino FaceTimed him. The Royals were pumped to get him back. But when the second half kicked off and the Royals had their first pregame meeting in Miami, they hardly recognized he was back. “It was like he’s been here for five years,” Isbel said. “It’s like a best friend thing. You don’t hang out with them for a bit, but you see them and it’s like you're just kicking it right back off.” |
MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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After a long road trip, the Royals kick off a 10-game homestand this week, which will include … • Tuesday: Royals/Current soccer jersey giveaway. Kansas City Current midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo will throw out the ceremonial first pitch to defender Izzy Rodriguez. • Thursday: Season ticket members can renew for 2026 and season ticket deposits for new buyers will be available. • Saturday: Ty Myers postgame concert |
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